Apple Fires Back in Lawsuit over Siri’s Performance

Apple Inc. is defending its voice-recognition software Siri — she of the iPhone 4S — against claims that it doesn’t perform as advertised.

A cluster of lawsuits seeking class action status in Oakland, Calif., allege that iPhone 4S commercials and company statements about the phone are false and misleading. Siri, they say, is brilliant on TV, but she’s dim in reality.

Remember that ‘Rock God’ commercial? One of the plaintiffs claims he couldn’t replicate it. Another says that when he asked for directions to a certain place, or to locate a store, Siri either didn’t understand or, after a long time, responded with the wrong answer.

Apple, which hired Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP to fight the claims, said in a recent court filing that Siri may not be perfect — in fact, she is a Beta release, something the company has been upfront about — but she’s still “cutting edge. . .